Pros

+ A revival of the old CQB
+ Excellent kick and power
+ Great durability

Cons

- Same blocky Infinity styling that some may not take to

Verdict

Overall, we give two thumbs up to the Wilson Combat. While we have gotten a little sick of all the Infinity variations out on the market, the Wilson provides something a little more refreshing. Of course it's just a rebranded Hicap but let's not kid ourselves here; WA's Hicap series still continues to provide the greatest power and strongest kick of all airsoft pistols on the market.

Separated at birth? That's the sense we get when gazing at WA's recent release of the Wilson Combat Hicap pistol. With striking similarities to the older and legendary WA Hicap CQB, which was one of the earliest versions of Hicaps to hit the market, the Wilson Combat brings just some aesthetic enhancements to an otherwise high performing pistol. In plain English, we are glad that WA has brought back the evil twin of the CQB, which was a much revered pistol here at RedWolf Airsoft. Discontinued in early 2000, we received many inquiries about its potential revival which shows just how popular the CQB really was.

Metal parts include the silver outer barrel, barrel end plate, front and rear sights, slide lock, ambidextrous safety, integrated safety pressure grip, hammer, magazine, magazine release button. The ejection port cover is, however, plastic but sports nickel plated coating. Disappointingly the trigger is plastic but that goes for all Hicaps so no surprise there. Die hard fans can always install an aftermarket trigger in metal, and with different colors too!

Placing the Wilson Combat side by side with the CQB, you will notice that the Wilson's slide is more intricately sculpted with groves. The safety lever on the Wilson is also a bit longer and contoured for the thumb. There is also a safety lever on both sides of the gun to make it "lefty-friendly". The stiff yet sturdy lever will not engage upwards unless the hammer is cocked. While the inscribed logo on the grip of the CQB states "WA", the Wilson's sports an eagle with the word "Wilson" underneath. You will also notice that there is no fake lower screw on the Wilson's grip. The Wilson also sports a lighter hammer and also more sophisticated sights ; windage and elevation adjustable Bomar sights. Both pistols are exactly the same length and height. The CQB also strikes me to be a little heavier on the nose, and the CQB's slide also feels heavier as you pull it back and release it. Without paying undue attention though, both pistols feel and look almost identical.

Pulling the slide back though reveals the biggest difference; the Wilson Combat has no lower slide guide rod. Interestingly enough, WA provides a tool (comes in the box) that allows you to twist the barrel/slide end plate to gain access to the recoil spring.

One other thing you notice when pulling back the slide for the first time is that it does not go far enough back for the slide lock to engage! This got us puzzled the first time until we learned more about the true design intent of the Wilson. Being a competition based pistol, shooters are expected to count the number of shots they squeeze off.

Once they reach the second-to-last round, they are expected to reload with a new magazine while the last round is in the chamber with the slide in the forward position. Another reason is that with the slide traveling a shorter distance back before making its return trip forward, the cycle time becomes much quicker. So you don't want to count rounds? No problem. The stock pistol achieves this function by way of a small stiff spring inserted into the recoil path. This little spring prevents the slide from recoiling all the way back to the rear-most position. Simply disassemble the pistol and remove the little spring (see photo on left and notice short thick spring under the slide) and the slide will recoil back to slide lock position as in any normal pistol. The instructions to do so are enclosed on a pink slip of paper within the box.

The Wilson's magazine takes a full 30 rounds and is equipped to handle a full charge of HFC22 gas through its Type R valve. The shooting experience can best be described as smile-inducing. Having improved upon its blowback mechanism, the Wilson possesses powerful kick in its blowback without sacrificing deadly accuracy. The report is also quite loud as the frame kicks upward and backward on each shot. With the stiff little spring left in place, the cycle times are extremely fast and you can squeeze off rounds as fast as you can pull the trigger. The magazine readily drops out of the well with a touch of the release button. Don't' let the magazine free fall drop onto the floor though since that will sure to crack the butt plate!

One small gripe we had with our test model was that the magazine seemed a little loose in the magazine well and tended to rattle as we moved the pistol round. An easy remedy we found for this was to simply apply some thin duct tape to the inside wall of the magazine well.

Compared with the original CQB, the Wilson is just as accurate but has a faster and crisper kick. The CQB's kick is a little stronger but visibly slower and you see it cycle and jerk your hand back. With the Wilson, everything just happens faster. Accuracy is at +/- 0.5 inches at 10 feet with a power of approximately 380fps (tested with HFC22 in 28 degree Celcius weather). We predict speeds of 400fps are attainable on a hot sunny day. Of course, the longer HIcaps are fully capable of the 400fps mark even on a warm day! (eg. 5 or 6 inch Infinity, and Prokiller 2000 which is incidentally the most powerful airsoft pistol on the market today capable of close to 440fps)

Overall, we give two thumbs up to the Wilson Combat. While we have gotten a little sick of all the Infinity variations out on the market, the Wilson provides something a little more refreshing. Of course it's just a rebranded Hicap but let's not kid ourselves here; WA's Hicap series still continues to provide the greatest power and strongest kick of all airsoft pistols on the market.